Better Days
by Stormchilde
Summary: Tag to the novel, The Waystation. After Beka asks Andromeda not to spank Harper for misbehaving.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Better Days  
Author: Harper's Cat AKA Stormchilde  
Archive: Beka MP3 and Mercury's Winter, anyone else please ask, you know I'll say yes.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Andromeda and I regret that daily.  
Rating: PG for implied violence.  
Setting/Season: 3ish? I haven't seen much past that.  
Spoilers: Spoilers for the novel "The Waystation"  
Warnings: Some implied violence  
Comments/Feedback: Please, feed The Cat!  
Summary: Tag to the novel, The Waystation. After Beka asks Andromeda not to spank Harper for misbehaving.  
A/N: I just wondered why Beka was upset by the prospect of Andromeda spanking Harper. What did she know and why would it be a bad thing?

She found him pacing agitatedly in the machine shop, "Andromeda said she felt like spanking you."

"Yeah, so what?" he asked, pacing away from her.

"I told her not to."

That made him pause. "Thanks." He busied himself with some small components on the table. "Did she ask why?"

"No. And I didn't tell her either. Though Dylan thought it was because you'd enjoy it."

He made a scoffing sound, "Naturally that would be the first thing that popped into _his _mind."

"Well you know, you do have that reputation."

"Yeah and you know better." He snapped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to open old… I thought you … Crap. This isn't going quite the way I'd intended." She came up beside him and picked up one of the system chips, nervously turning it over and over in her hands. "I didn't want it to come up as a surprise topic in the mess hall."

"Yeah, that could be … unnerving if I didn't know why they suddenly decided to ask me about it I guess." The chip in his hand suddenly shattered under the pressure of his fingers. Bright droplets of blood spattered the tabletop. "Damn." He put his fingers in his mouth.

"Don't do that." She scolded, "Let me see."

He held out his hand, showing her the cuts across his thumb and three of his fingers.

She pulled a rag out of one of his pockets and wrapped it tightly around his hand.

"Ow." He complained, "Do you have to be so rough?"

"Sorry." The sight of the blood brought back unpleasant memories for her. In her mind's eye she could see the flash of metal tipped leather as it tore into pale flesh, blood dripping onto the metal floor.

"You all right?" he asked.

"No." she could hear the strangled screams, taste blood and bile in her mouth.

"Better days." He reminded her, "It's in the past, let it stay there."

"How can you let go of it so easy?" she asked, "I just saw it, you lived it and I can't forget…"

"Don't." his voice was soft, "Don't blame yourself. I deserved it."

"No!" she tightened her grip on his hand, "Never say that!"

He looked straight into her eyes, "She had to punish me."

"That wasn't punishment, that was sadistic torture."

"I broke the rules, if she didn't punish me she'd have lost the respect of the others."

"She said she was going to spank you." She insisted.

"Spank, whip, thrash, we all have different interpretations." He started moving the other chips around on the table, getting them away from the pooling blood.

She shuddered at the sight.

He shrugged, "I should have done as she told me and not mouthed off in front of everybody to boot."

"You were just a kid."

"Nineteen," he reminded her, " I knew better. I've just always had a problem with authority."

"Authority," she huffed, "People like her should never be allowed to teach."

"I leaned a lot and damn quick too."

She smiled and rubbed his spiky hair, "That was because you're a 'freakin genius'!"

"So you admit it now?" His eyes shone with laughter.

She shook her head, trying to hide her grin, "Maybe."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to Jipster, without the picture you gave me the muse would never have come back. This chapter is for you.

Not beta'd all mistakes are mine.

oOoO

"Because you'll have to be able to read if you want to get a real job that's why."

"Are you tryin' to get rid of me?" Harper pouted.

"Not yet but if you keep arguing with me I'll consider it."

"Fine." Harper frowned, "I'll go to this school thing but I'm not promisin' anything."

"Trust me," Beka said. "You'll be glad you did."

The school was in a large warehouse on Comegy Drift. Beka had to practically drag the reluctant engineer into the building. "Come on Harper."

"This doesn't look like a school to me." He said, eying the building warily.

"And how many schools have you seen?"

Harper rolled his eyes, "None."

"Will you at least give it a chance?" Beka asked. "If you hate it after one day, I won't make you go back again. I'll try to teach you myself."

"Like you make…" Harper bit his lip, thinking better of making a smart-ass remark while she still held onto his arm.

"What?"

"Nothin'." Harper grinned impishly, "So are there gonna to be girls at this school?"

Beka laughed, "I'm sure there will be but you're here to learn to read not get slapped around."

"Hey!" He protested, "I get along just fine with the ladies."

"Must I remind you about that indecent exposure charge on Hawkins's Drift?"

"That was a misunderstanding." Harper blushed. "I thought she said yes."

"There will be fewer 'misunderstandings' if you concentrate on learning to read and write, not chase women."

"Yeah but not nearly as fun."

"We'll have some fun when you finish school."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Can I pick the drift?" Harper asked.

"Uhmm, can I get back to on that later?" Beka laughed.

Harper laughed and shook his head, "I'd better go, I don't wanna to be late."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"On the first day? No offense boss but I don't wanna to go in there and have the others thinkin' I need someone to hold my hand." Harper rambled, "Not that I mind holdin' your hand but you know what I mean right?"

"I know."

"In a couple of days maybe?"

"Sure thing Shorty." Beka made shooing motions, "Now get in there and knock the teacher's socks off."

Harper ginned mischievously and Beka hastened to add, "I mean that figuratively, not literally." She shook a finger at him. "Behave, I don't want a call from the teacher saying that you're disrupting the class."

Harper put on his best 'innocent lamb' look. "Would I do that?"

"Damn straight."

"You wound me." He put a hand over his heart and staggered away melodramatically.

"Off with you, you ham." Beka laughed.

Harper paused at the door, "See you back at the Maru tonight?"

"You better believe it." Beka waved, "I want to hear about everything you do today."

"Well I don't know if I can tell you everything…"

"Get in there!" Beka made as if to chase him and he opened the door and went in laughing.

oOoO

Eleven hours later Harper appeared at the Maru's airlock. The grin on his face would have lit up an abandoned freighter. He was talking a mile a minute, obviously excited about the events of the day.

"Take a breath Shorty." Beka had rarely seen the young man so hyper. She held the can just out of his reach. "I'm not sure I should let you have this." She teased. "If you're this hyper now what are you gonna be like after a can of Sparky?"

After a few unsuccessful attempts he gave up trying to grab the can, "I'll chill." He sat down at the table folding his hands on the tabletop. "May I have it now please?"

Beka looked at him like he'd suddenly sprouted a horn in the middle of his forehead. 'Who are you and what have you done with my engineer?"

"I'm learnin' a lot of stuff." Harper boasted. "I'm behavin' and gettin' along with everybody. I didn't get in any trouble at all today."

Beka handed him the can of cola. "I take it that you won't mind going back tomorrow?" she asked, placing a plate in front of him.

"Yeah, I wanna go back." Harper pulled the lid off the plate and ate with his usual speed. "It's great."

Beka grinned, "See, I told you it wouldn't be so bad."

"Yeah," Harper paused wolfing down his late dinner, "You were right." His expression was melancholy. "Thanks Boss. This really means a lot to me."

Beka ruffled his hair, "No problem kid, just make me proud okay?"

Harper grinned, "You betcha!"

oOoO

For the next five days Harper was up, dressed and gone to the school before Beka was even awake. He would return to the Maru late in the evening, hungry and hyper, to share with Beka all he'd learned while he scarfed down the food she'd set back for him.

She never failed to be impressed with how much he had learned. Harper was dragging out old technical flexies and reading them aloud while Beka cleared away the dishes. One night he'd pulled a piece of real paper from the one of the pockets in his cargo pants and using a stubby pencil, proudly showed her that he could now write his name. Beka laughed, seeing 'Seamus Zelazny Harper' printed on the page more than a dozen times already.

oOoO

They had been on Comegy for seven days when Beka received a comm message from the school. Mrs. Greer, the teacher, sounded very angry when she requested that the 'person responsible for Seamus Harper' meet her at the school immediately. Beka checked her credit chips with a wry smile, she was a little surprised that Harper hadn't been in trouble before now. Hopefully whatever girl the engineer had insulted would be amenable to bribery.

Beka was met at the door of the school by an imposing man who escorted her to the director's office. Beka didn't like the attitudes of the people who were gathered there, their angry glares made her skin crawl.

"This is a very serious matter Ms. Valentine." said Mrs. Greer. "Your charge was very disruptive in class today and I will not have that."

Beka swallowed hard, whatever Harper had done, these people did not view it as a harmless prank or a misunderstanding. "I don't know what he did but I'm certain we can work something out."

"Oh we will Ms. Valentine." Mrs. Greer said. "Mr. Harper must be punished for his behavior. He misbehaved in class and he will receive his punishment in front of the class."

"What are you going to do?" Beka gulped.

"Mr. Harper will be spanked. The other students must be made aware that these kinds of disruptions will not be tolerated and punishment for such actions will be swift."

Beka tried not to break into a laugh, "You're going to spank him in front of the class?"

"If you do not object."

"I'm a captain, I know that it's important to keep order and sometimes that means making an example of one of your crew so that the others know they can't get away with it too."

"If you'll come with me then, Captain Valentine." Mrs. Greer led Beka out of the office and down the hall to a classroom.

Beka looked around at the faces of the students, most were much younger than Harper but they all wore the same expressions of dread. A twist of unease curled in her stomach when she saw Harper standing in front of the desk, his back to the class, hands flat on the desktop.

The engineer glanced at her with a guilty, apologetic expression, then his gaze went back to the desktop.

"We are all aware of the codes of behavior for students at this facility." Mrs. Greer addressed the class. "Mr. Harper knew that there would be consequences for his …" she paused, lips curling as if she'd tasted something foul, "antics and yet he still disrupted my lecture. He will now pay the price for breaking the rules of conduct and you will witness it so that it may deter any of you from following in his misguided footsteps." She held out her hand and the man who had escorted Beka in handed the teacher a whip.

Before Beka could even move to intervene, the whip landed on Harper's back, shredding his shirt and the skin beneath. He rocked forward with the blow but didn't make a sound. Beka tried to go to him but the teacher's assistant grabbed her arms and held her back. All Beka could do was watch as the whip ripped across Harper's bare skin nineteen more times. Harper never made a sound but Beka could taste blood where she'd bitten her own tongue in a effort to keep silent.

When it was over the room was silent but for the soft whimpers and sniffling of some of the other students. Harper refused her help, walking stiffly out of the room under his own power. When he reached the hall and the door closed behind them, the young msn collapsed in Beka's arms.

"I wanna go home." He said softly.

"Home? Beka echoed.

"Back to the Maru."

"Back to the Maru and off this rock." Beka said angrily. She pulled him to his feet and slung his arm over her shoulders.

Now he began to cry, "I'm sorry Boss. I'm sorry."

Beka kissed his cheek, "I'm not mad at you Shorty I'm mad at them and I'm mad at myself for making you come."

Harper stumbled along beside her, "I'm glad you let me go. It's my fault for messin' it all up."

Beka took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "You make my life interesting, that's for sure. But I wouldn't have it any other way."


End file.
